Theology Papers and Journal ArticlesCopyright (c) 2015 University of Notre Dame Australia All rights reserved.http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article
Recent documents in Theology Papers and Journal Articlesen-usSat, 11 Apr 2015 01:40:45 PDT3600Theophilus of Alexandria and the Episcopal Ordination of Synesius of Cyrenehttp://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/147
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/147Thu, 09 Apr 2015 02:26:38 PDT
Extant works show that Theophilus was fiercely opposed to the Origenism of the Tall Brothers and their fellow monks. These same works also demonstrate that he was a competent and orthodox theologian. In peculiar contrast to the written proof of Theophilus’ anti-Origenism, Theophilus ordained Synesius of Cyrene who had openly declared heterodox views. Norman Russell, in his work Theophilus of Alexandria, declares that Theophilus was willing to ordain Synesius and appoint him as bishop of the Pentapolis so long as Synesius kept these heretical opinions private. Given the unusual nature of his ordination, Synesius’ relationship with Theophilus thus offers a useful perspective on the character, leadership style, and theology of the Patriarch of Alexandria.
]]>
Kevin WagnerOur pathway to God: Drawn by desirehttp://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/146
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/146Wed, 11 Mar 2015 02:18:00 PDT
[...]we should take seriously Jesus' words to the blind Bartimaeus: 'What do you want me to do for you?' This question is emblematic of the human quest for meaning. [...]the indwelling Spirit gives a new energy and power to humanity to realize the plans of God. [...]the Risen Jesus' presence in his community points to a reconciliation of the unresolved tension of the inner/outer dimensions of experience, of the relationship between the personal and the communal and a, finally, clarification of what is authentic and inauthentic in a way of life centered on God revealed in Jesus.
]]>
Tom RyanSecond person perspective, virtues and the gifts in Aquinas's Ethicshttp://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/145
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/145Tue, 17 Jun 2014 21:13:13 PDT
The second-personal perspective is an emerging development in philosophical and theological ethics. Significant here is the recent work of Andrew Pinsent. He proposes a reading of Aquinas's treatment of the virtues, gifts, beatitudes and fruits of the Spirit in the light of the second person perspective and the interpersonal experience of Joint Attention. Pinsent draws on recent work in philosophy, neuroscience and experimental psychology to underpin his approach. This article attempts three things: to rehearse the main lines of Pinsent's proposal; to investigate further two aspects of Pinsent's study, namely, personal resonance and connaturality as evident in Aquinas's ethical framework; finally, to offer an initial assessment and an implication of the proposal.
]]>
Thomas RyanAbortion before marriage, marriage tribunal jurisprudence and moral theologyhttp://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/144
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/144Tue, 17 Jun 2014 20:24:04 PDT
Perhaps the most neuralgic issue shaping the Catholic Church's relationship to wider contemporary society is abortion. In Australia, the Church's efforts to counter abortion's increasing incidence and after-effects are evident in Bishops' statements, websites such as Walking with Love, and, from lay-inspired movements such as the Rachel's' Vineyard Retreat. Further, research is bringing a greater appreciation of the trauma and long-term effects of the abortion experience. Given that, it is reasonable to assume its influence, in some instances, on marital consent. Investigating this question, then, is a timely exercise. At the same time, it can provide an insight into a ministry that is somewhat specialised, and, of its nature, sensitive and confidential, namely, the marriage annulment process. Finally, from within that context, it raises adjacent questions relating to Moral Theology.
]]>
Thomas RyanChristian ethics today: Is the ground shifting?http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/143
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/143Tue, 17 Jun 2014 19:46:09 PDTThomas RyanBook Review: Only One Way? Three Christian Responses on the Uniqueness of Christ in a Religiously Plural Worldhttp://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/142
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/142Mon, 31 Mar 2014 20:47:45 PDT
In this book the authors have produced a fascinating example of dialogue. It is fascinating because it demonstrates, on the one hand, examples of friendship in ecumenical dialogue between: D'Costa (Roman Catholic of an orthodox persuasion) and Knitter (Roman Catholic of a liberal persuasion); and D'Costa and Strange (Conservative Evangelical Protestant). Particularly D'Costa and Strange share a profound mutuality and a growing theological bond. Not surprisingly, Strange shows that his Protestant Reformed orthodoxy is far closer to D'Costa's Catholicism than to Knitter's. On the other hand, the book puts friendship to the test. Dramatically, the boundaries of dialogue are expanded through candid and cutting criticisms, apologetical disputations and bold, insightful and at times almost wounding deconstructions of one another's theological beliefs and positions. The comedy of the dialogical drama comes to light where each tirelessly tries to advocate their portrait of the ‘Christ of faith’ over others, yet a tragedy remains where each fall victim to their personal criticisms of one another.
]]>
Glenn J. MorrisonScirghi, Thomas. Everything Is Sacred. Brewster, Massachusetts: Paraclete Press, 2012.http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/141
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/141Thu, 13 Mar 2014 18:59:10 PDTAngela McCarthyGrapes, olives and yams: Towards a theology of the garden in Oceaniahttp://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/140
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/140Thu, 13 Mar 2014 18:56:06 PDT
Pursuing a theology of the garden in Oceania, the article develops Ilaitia Tuwere’s Fijian theological perspectives with Emmanuel Levinas’ philosophy and Talmudic readings. The defining experience in the Oceanic garden is mercy. Through the bodiliness and otherness of Jesus, the chief Gardener, an immemorial truth emerges: the land (vanua) testifies to the mercy (maternity) of God, revealing a garden (were) of justice, repentance, peace, healing and the forgiveness of sins. Indeed, our hope for the reign of God is not useless and for nothing, for it becomes the very source of the fecundity of time and the positive value of history, moving us on with confidence and courage to encounter Edens and Gethsemanes in the Oceanic garden.
]]>
Glenn J. MorrisonCohen, David J. Why O Lord? Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster, 2013.http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/139
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/139Thu, 13 Mar 2014 18:56:04 PDTAngela McCarthyDavid J Cohen, Why O Lord: Praying our Sorrows (Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster, 2013).http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/138
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/138Thu, 13 Mar 2014 18:47:33 PDTAngela McCarthyInterfaith dialogue and transcendence: Being face-to-facehttp://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/137
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/137Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:52:10 PDT
Interfaith dialogue demands transcendence towards the sacred reality of the other’s face. The other is always sacred. In the other’s face we hear the word of God ordering us to journey into ways of peace, healing and compassion. These are the ways of loving our neighbour with all our heart, mind, strength and hope.
]]>
Glenn J. MorrisonBook Review of "Human Dignity in Contemporary Ethics"http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/136
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/136Tue, 11 Mar 2014 01:48:28 PDT
This timely book is, arguably, an extended discussion on how to make sense of the murder, in Johannesburg in 2009, of Fr. Lionel Shan who spent his priestly ministry working for troubled youth. Around this event, Kirchhoffer encapsulates his central idea: human dignity, properly understood, is an ethical concept that helps us take seriously the existential meaning of behaviour across the moral spectrum, from the violence of the killer, to the generosity and self-sacrificing love of his victim (xvi). Overall, this is a very fine piece of scholarship and a credit to the author.
]]>
Thomas RyanDoes Liturgy always mean being on a "high"?http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/135
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/135Tue, 11 Mar 2014 01:23:30 PDTThomas RyanLiturgy, ethics and reconciliation: Learning from Abraham Lincoln's rhetorical arthttp://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/134
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/134Tue, 11 Mar 2014 00:30:37 PDT
To achieve this goal, I drew on two studies from within the Western tradition that analyse the rhetorical aspects of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address and his speeches.5 After reading these articles it became apparent that the parallels between Lincoln's rhetorical art exhibited particularly in the Gettysburg Address (November 1863) and the design of EP RII were numerous and (unexpectedly) striking. Lincoln's speech to dedicate Gettysburg's burial ground, made within the final two years of the Civil War, was an important symbolic moment in the effort to restore union.7 Alternatively, with EP RII, composed for the Holy Year of 1975 and focused on personal reconciliation (in the sacrament of penance), its broader setting was of the 'Cold War', of a Europe divided by the Iron Curtain with little hope of reconciliation.8 Second, in comparing these texts, it is helpful to view them both as 'cultural' documents.
]]>
Thomas RyanCovenantal ethics, the Church and the Royal Commission on Sexual Abusehttp://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/133
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/133Mon, 10 Mar 2014 23:46:12 PDTThomas RyanBook Reviews: S.L. Frank's The Meaning of Life and Steve Paulson's Atoms & Eden: Conversations on Religion and Sciencehttp://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/132
http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theo_article/132Mon, 18 Nov 2013 19:14:08 PST
Responding to the prophetic call and hopes of the ‘greatest’ Russian poet, Fyodor Tyutchev (1803-1873), the ‘greatest’ Russian philosopher, Vladimir Solovyov (1853-1900) and the ‘greatest’ modern Russian saint, Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833), Frank presents a profoundly personal commentary, philosophy and spirituality on the meaninglessness and meaningfulness of life. The book not only serves to represent an encounter with the depths of the Russian soul, but also touches the reader’s soul itself to develop a hunger for the richness of Russian literature and thought.

In the drama of science and religion debates, conflicts and dialogues, the journalist, Steve Paulson, has produced Atoms & Eden: Conversations on Religion and Science, a revealing and compelling compendium of interviews with well-known scientists of varying backgrounds. Like Frank, Paulson is searching for meaning amidst meaninglessness. But it is not the absurdity of political revolution and violence that throws Paulson into a search, but the struggle of attuning the power of neuroscience, evolutionary biology and theoretical physics into conversation with theology, religion, spirituality and mystical experience. Indeed, Paulson, presenting the voice of twenty-one eminent intellectuals – including Karen Armstrong, Andrew Newberg, John Haught, Richard Dawkins, Simon Conway Morris, Elaine Pagels, Nidhal Guesoum, Paul Davies, Steven Weinberg and Jane Goodall – has done a great service to bring these voices together.